In many industries it may often be desirable to transport material from one location to another location. For example, in the mine industry there is often a need to transport ore bearing rock from a mine site to a processing facility and also to transport waste rock after processing of ore bearing rock from the processing facility to a disposal area. Using vehicles such as large diesel powered dump trucks to transport such material can prove costly, particularly if a suitable road is long or difficult to construct and maintain due to terrain or other conditions.
One alternative to vehicle transport of material is to employ a conveyor system. However, many traditional conveyor systems employ a continuous series of closely spaced rollers supporting a flat belt that moves in a continuous loop from one end where material to be transported is piled on top of the flat belt to another end where the material in dumped from the belt which then loops back underneath to rollers to the first end. Such conveyor systems can prove costly to construct, particularly over long transport distances or difficult terrain conditions due to the need to provide structure supporting the series of closely spaced support rollers along the entire length of the belt. Also, if there is a need to cover the material during transport to reduce dust or limit the introduction of water into the transported material from rain or the snow, adding a cover structure over the flat belt conveyor further complicates construction and increases cost.